Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Acceptability & Willingness to Use HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis among HIV-Negative Men Who Have Sex with Men in Switzerland

Pre-exposure prophylaxis
(PrEP) is discussed as an additionalHIVprevention
method targeting men who have sex with men (MSM). So far, PrEP has not been
approved in Switzerland and only little is known about the acceptability of
PrEP among MSM living in Switzerland. Given the slow uptake of PrEP among MSM
in the USA, the objectives of the study were to investigate the acceptability for
PrEP and to identify factors influencing the acceptability for this prevention
method and the willingness to adopt it. During a 4-month period we conducted
five focus group discussions with 23 consecutively sampledHIV-negative MSM aged 22-60 years living in Switzerland. We
analyzed the data according to qualitative content analysis. The acceptability
of PrEP varied considerably among the participants. Some would use PrEP
immediately after its introduction in Switzerland because it provides an
alternative to condoms which they are unable or unwilling to use. Others were
more ambivalent towards PrEP but still considered it

an additional or
alternative protection to regular condom use,

an option to engage in sexual
activities with less worries and anxieties or

a protection during receptive
anal intercourse independently of the sexual partner's protective behaviour.

Some participants would not consider using PrEP at all: they do not see any
benefit in PrEP as they have adopted safer sex practices and did not mention
any problems with condom use. Others are still undecided and could imagine
using an improved form of PrEP. The results provide a valuable basis for a
model explaining the acceptability of PrEP among MSM and suggest including the
personalHIVprotection
strategy in the considerations adopted.